Havana, Cuba, Oct 25, 2010 / 20:04 pm
The leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya, has offered his congratulations to Guillermo Farinas, the recipient of the European Union’s 2010 Sakharov Prize, saying that the selection of Farinas proves that “Cubans have a right to rights.”
In a letter to Europe, Paya wrote, “Within Cuba we peacefully fight for these rights and we hope to receive the solidarity of everyone so Cubans themselves can bring about these changes in an atmosphere of reconciliation.”
Paya received the Sakharov Prize in 2002.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience is named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. It was established in December of 1985 by the European Parliament in order to honor persons or organizations devoted to the defense of human rights and freedom.